Just Some More Pictures

Kids seeing Caleb

The kids came with my parents to see Caleb.  The three older ones loved him, Hannah wasn't too sure.  Hannah didn't like me one bit.  The first time she saw me, she cried and wouldn't come near me.  She would give me these sideways looks that told me she was unsure about how she felt about everything going on. I thought that she would respond better to me if I got dressed and put on a little make-up and tried to move around the room a little the next time she saw me.  She still didn't want anything to do with me.  I even tried to bribe her with candy.

I am typing this about two weeks later and things have kind of gotten back to normal.  Hannah still has some outbursts, but she is doing better.  The kids have started school and returned home.  They were at my parents house for two weeks having a great time.  My mom had something fun planned for every day of the week and then they earned a trip to Bisbee and Kartchner Caverns.  They loved this.  Hannah stayed behind.  

I have been so fortunate.  Everyone has done so much to help me out.  I really felt loved by everyone of my family members.  Jon Mark was a great help as well.  He changed so many diapers and cleaned up after the kids on the weekends.  He has been so supportive to me. 

First Pictures Part 2

These were taken in the recovery room.  Jon Mark took video and pictures so that I would remember it this time.

I LOVE kangaroo care.

First Pictures of Caleb

Caleb's Birth Story

We arrived to the hospital on March 6, 2015 at 10:30 am.  We waited around forever because there was an emergency and so my time slot was moved back.  The woman who had the emergency went into labor very early, I guess (Jon Mark overheard her husband in the recovery room).  Her baby was okay.  Anyway, we waited and I tried to stay calm.  I didn't want to be slipped the forgetting potion that they give to mothers who appear to be very anxious.  I was given that last time and could remember everything except for holding Hannah in the recovery room.  That part has left my memory for good.  I didn't want that again.

When they finally wheeled me back, I was given a spinal without Jon Mark present, they don't let the husbands see this portion.  Then, they got to work.  There were a lot of staff in the operating room.  I thought that there was no way that they would have started cutting me open because Jon Mark wasn't called back into the operating room yet.  So, I glanced up and caught the reflection in the chrome of them performing surgery.  I could see it as though I was looking in a mirror.  It was about that time when my doctor asked if anybody had told my husband to come back in.  So they paused and got Jon Mark.  He was in there not too long before they pulled little Caleb out.

Caleb was so tiny to me.  Weighing only 7 lbs 14 oz, he was my smallest baby.  I said so, and the nurse said, "well, I wouldn't say he is exactly tiny." I guess 7.14 is still pretty average.  

I started to feel a lot of pressure in my sternum, so the doctor gave me some medicine that made the room spin, and I really wanted to fall asleep.  I just closed my eyes long enough for them to stitch me up (I glanced upward and saw me completely open in the abdomen because I thought that they had already stitched me up because Jon Mark was no longer with me--he had taken the baby to the recovery room).  I went into the recovery room and enjoyed some skin to skin contact with my baby, something I absolutely love, and nursed him.  He was a great nurser from the beginning.  I never got sore or really engorged (except for one time on the day that he got circumcised because he slept through his feedings).  Feeding him is so easy.  

I think everyone who sees Caleb will agree that he looks so much like Luke.  Jon Mark and I keep calling him Luke on accident.  

In keeping with tradition, here is Caleb's birth song (a short little ditty to the tune of Scripture Power):

Caleb Jon, is my other boy.

Caleb Jon, brings me so much joy.

Caleb Jon, everyday I need,

My Caleb Jon McAvoy with me! 

Caleb Jon McAvoy

He's here! Caleb Jon McAvoy was born on March 6, 2015 at about 2 pm.  He weighed in at 7 lbs 14 oz (my smallest baby), and was about 20 inches long.  He's got some baby-fine blond hair and no eyelashes or eyebrows.  He is absolutely adorable, and so much fun.  I will write more later, I just wanted to post this picture that I took to show him off.  I am so in love with him!  Welcome to earth, Caleb!

Courage

Tomorrow I meet my new son.  Caleb is scheduled to be born via c-section on March 6, 2015 at 12:30 pm.  As long as everything goes according to plan, today is the eve of his birth.

He is my last baby, the conclusion to this chapter of my life.  He is what makes our family complete.

I am excited to meet him.  And, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't nervous.  I am.  I always am.  I am thankful that I live in a time in which modern medicine and doctors and nurses have such knowledge and ability, and that I have access to their care.  I know that I will be in good hands, and that my baby will be in good hands.  That does alleviate my fears somewhat. It's difficult to imagine what other women of other times must have felt prior to birthing their own babies--or their husbands for that matter.  I know that Jon Mark is nervous as well.  He obviously doesn't like seeing me in pain.

I was watching the Mormon Channel today and I saw a video about courage.  It showed Esther preparing to approach the king.  You could sense that she was afraid, but she had a resolve about her. Her faith in the Lord gave her courage to do what she needed to do.  Then, the video showed three women of modern times.  Each of them had experienced something difficult.  One woman lost her husband in a car accident and she talked about how she had to find courage through her pain so that she could live life meaningfully in spite of it.  Her faith gave her courage.  Another woman had to find courage to quit her job.  The company she worked for had done some things which were contrary to her beliefs and she knew she needed to approach her boss about it and trust that the Lord would take care of her.  The third woman went through Cancer.  She said, "you never know how strong you are until being strong is all you have left." Each of them faced their trials with faith in the Lord, that all things were apart of a bigger plan, and that He was aware of them.  When we grasp this concept, how can we not find courage in even the hardest hours?

Millions of women have given birth before me, and millions of women will give birth after me. Giving life to another is not new, I am sure that women from all around the world have felt as I feel...

Delivering a baby is as exciting as it is scary. It is learning how to trust in others. It is as beautiful and heart-warming as it is self-sacrificing--which only adds to it's beauty.  It is seeing the great compassion in my husband and feeling his strength and love. It is putting someone else's life above my own and knowing that no matter what, that little life is precious and perfect and vulnerable, and that he needs me, his mother, as much as he needs his father. Giving birth requires courage--courage to do what is right for the baby, courage to accept the Lord's will, and courage to trust that God is in the details.  He is indeed in the details.

So, as Jon Mark and I embark on this "5th baby adventure" together, we will have courage in our hearts and we will soon hold even more love in our arms.